DPWH-CAR “washing hands” over cancelled projects

BAGUIO CITY — The Cordillera office of the public works department here is “washing its hands” over flood-control projects recently cancelled by public works secretary Rogelio Singson who found some “leakage” or error in the projects’ identification.

DPWH-Cordillera spokesman Francis Almora claimed they have little knowledge on the approved projects amounting to P53.065 million for the Cordillera highlands.

Singson had cancelled projects located in La Trinidad, Bokod, Itogon and Buguias in Benguet Sabangan, Mountain Province and Tabuk, Kalinga; under contract with Ferdstar Builders Contractors and a dozen more flood-control projects, mostly in Luzon worth P934 million.

Singson had claimed that more than these were negotiated contracts and did not go through public bidding, and were entered into 12 days before the new administration took over.

He added “to me the bigger leakage is in the project identification. The identification and prioritization is very bad.”
Almora of the DPWH-CAR though admitted it is the district office or the regional office who submits or endorses the list of projects, “we have no list of what was approved and not included.”

Though insisting the regional offices of the DPWH usually have a copy of projects approved or not, Almora admits they are also caught unaware (sometimes) on calamity-related projects.

“We are on the process of identifying which projects are these (cancelled),” he said.

Still, Almora acknowledges that it is still the regional or district offices of the DPWH that identifies projects (in their respective areas), though he thinks Sec. Singson might just be referring to the regular infrastructure program of DPWH and not the calamity projects.

A four-man team, led by Undersecretary Jamie Pacanan, was already formed to investigate the projects that were listed as “Post Ondoy and Pepeng Short-Term Infrastructure” funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica).
The cancelled projects were among the anomalous transactions involving some 86 Jica-funded infrastructure-rehabilitation projects worth P3.5 billion which the DPWH central office had named.

The costliest of the projects was in barangay San Vicente, San Manuel, Pangasinan, which is worth P228.75 million negotiated with Northern Builders, which got two more projects in Pampanga and in Bulacan.

The list of canceled flood-control projects that included those in CAR are Ilocos Norte (P35.11 million by A. De Guia Construction); Barangay Bantog, Asingan, Pangasinan (P91.49 million by Tokwing Construction); Barangay San Vicente, San Manuel, Pangasinan (P228.745 million by Northern Builders);